15. The Monotypes of Maria Jarema
Maria Jarema’s monotypes occupy a unique place in her oeuvre and in the history of postwar Polish art. The artist took up this technique in the late nineteen forties and treated it not only as a formal experiment but, most importantly, as a means of expanding the language of artistic expression. Monotype, on the borderline between printmaking and painting, consists of creating an image on a smooth surface – usually a metal or glass plate – followed by a single impression on paper. Each work is therefore unique, and the process itself contains an element of unpredictability. “Mono” means single, hence the name of the technique.
For Jarema, this singularity and a certain lack of control over the final result were of crucial importance. Working on monotypes required quick decisions and intense, physical engagement. The artist worked with gesture, trace and tension between the stain and the line, and often used the process of subtraction - scraping away paint to bring the light out of the dark matter of the image. This gave the compositions a dynamic, pulsating character, captured as if in the midst of transformation. The monotypes reveal a fascination with movement, metaphor, and the intertwining of forms. This fascination is also evident in the artist’s work on set design and costume projects.
Jarema creates compositions without clearly defined boundaries – the shapes seem to expand, disintegrate, then rearrange themselves anew. Similarly to organic forms or structures viewed through a magnifying glass, they resemble merging drops of water constantly changing shape. What remains essential is the very process of transformation and the tension between order and chaos.
Maria Jarema’s works – including those in the Starak Collection – reveal a fascination with the fluidity of forms and their constant transformation. Series such as “Penetrations,” “Filters,” “Rhythms,” and “Words” depict organic and geometric structures that seem to remain in motion, pulsate, and disintegrate. They intertwine to such an extent that we fail to notice the boundary between the world of lines defining the outline of the drawing and the free-flowing fields of color.
Monotype allowed the artist to create layered images in which transparent areas and subtle tonal transitions create a sense of depth. At the same time, their materiality is preserved – the trace of the hand, friction, and accidental shifts in paint. It is precisely in this ambiguity – between control and chance – that the power of the image is revealed.
Jarema’s work in this technique can also be interpreted as an attempt to capture the experience of postwar reality: fragile, unstable, and subject to constant change. Monotype becomes a special medium here - it allows us to speak of what is fleeting and difficult to name unambiguously and at the same time creates space for a new, autonomous visual language.
In the second half of the nineteen fifties, Jaremianka’s work, especially her monotypes, finally received the recognition it deserved. Museums began competing for works that had previously been kept in drawers or given away to friends. A retrospective exhibition of her work opened at the Kordegarda Gallery in Warsaw in April nineteen fifty-eight. The show was very well received by critics. Two months later, her paintings represented Poland at the twenty ninth Venice Biennale, winning the Francesco Nullo Award from the Polish-Italian Society. Even abroad, when compared with the latest European art, Maria Jarema’s works were admired for their originality. Their light, dynamic structure stood out from Art Informel that was popular at the time.
